Great Throughts Treasury

This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.

Paulo Coelho

Brazilian Lyricist and Novelist

"There are times when you still need to take risks, make foolish steps."

"There are two kinds of idiots - those who don't take action because they have receive a threat, and those who think they are taking action because they have issued a threat."

"There is a force that wants you to realize your destiny; it whets your appetite with a taste of success!"

"There are two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of wheel fortune, when you least expected it."

"There is a name for that pebble: passion. It can be used to describe the beauty of an earth-shaking meeting between two people, but it isn't just that. It's there in the excitement of the unexpected, in the desire to do something with real fervor, in the certainty that one is going to realize a dream. Passion sends us signals that guide us through our lives, and it's up to me to interpret those signs. I would like to believe that I'm in love. With someone I don't know and who didn't figure in my plans at all. All these months of self-control, of denying love, have had exactly the opposite result: I have let myself be swept away by the first person to treat me a little differently."

"There is a great truth in this world, whoever you are and whatever you do, when you really want something, it is this desire that is born in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on Earth."

"There is a saying such as a trader in all the languages of the world. Says, far from the eye, far from the heart. I assure you that this statement is totally wrong. Whenever after us, I woke up feeling that we are trying to flaying forgotten and from the heart. When we are in exile, we seek to reserve for the object beloved , remember each person passes through us in the street."

"There is no doubt that love can change everything in a man's life during the short period of time. But , and this is the other face of the medal, there is a feeling that can last a human being to quite different from those it was seeking, which is Elias."

"There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things."

"There is always someone in the world waiting for someone else, whether in the middle of the desert or in the heart of some big city. And when these two people?s paths cross and their eyes meet, the whole of the past and the whole of the future lose all importance, and there only exists that moment and that incredible certainty that everything under the Sun was written by the very same Hand. The Hand that awakens Love and creates a sister soul for everyone who works, rests and seeks treasures under the Sun. Were it not for this, the dreams of the human race would make no sense."

"There is no happiness in having and getting, only in giving."

"There is no time to leave important words unsaid."

"There is no such thing as death. Life existed before we were born and will continue to exist after we leave this world. Same with love, it existed before and will go on forever."

"There is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth."

"There is no tragedy, only the unavoidable. Everything has its reason for being: you only need to distinguish what is temporary from what is lasting."

"There is nothing worse than the feeling that no one cares whether we exist or not, that no one is interested in what we have to say about life, and that the world can continue turning without our awkward presence. I began to imagine how many millions of people were, at that moment, feeling utterly useless and wretched?however rich, charming, and delightful they might be?because they were alone that night, as they were yesterday, and as they might well be tomorrow."

"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."

"There is no victory or defeat in the cycle of nature: there is movement... When the human heart understands it, is free. Accepted without weighing the difficult times and is not fooled by moments of glory."

"There is only one way to learn. It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey."

"There it is, true freedom - to enjoy what is most precious to you, but do not own it."

"There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning."

"There must be a language that doesn't depend on words."

"There must be a language that doesn?t depend on words, the boy thought? He was learning lots of new things. Some of them were things that he had already experienced, and weren?t really new, but that he had never perceived before. And he hadn?t perceived them because he had become accustomed to them."

"There was a language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time that he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired."

"There was a moment of silence so profound that it seemed the city was asleep. No sound from the bazaars, no arguments among the merchants, no men climbing to the towers to chant. No hope, no adventure, no old kings or Personal Legends, no treasure, and no Pyramids. It was as if the world had fallen silent because the boy?s soul had."

"There were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it? People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same."

"There?s no point sitting here, using words that mean nothing. Go and experiment. It?s time you got out of here. Go and re-conquer your kingdom, which has grown corrupted by routine. Stop repeating the same lesson, because you won?t learn anything new that way."

"There?s one that says, ?Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time."

"There was terror in each and every one of the people on that beautiful beach and on that breathtakingly beautiful evening. Terror of being alone, terror of the darkness filling their imaginations with devils, terror of doing anything not in the manuals of good behavior, terror of God?s judgment, of what other people would say, of the law punishing any mistake, terror of trying and failing, terror of succeeding and having to live with the envy of other people, terror of loving and being rejected, terror of asking for a rise in salary, of accepting an invitation, of going somewhere new, of not being able to speak a foreign language, of not making the right impression, of growing old, of dying, of being pointed on because of one?s defects, of not being pointed out because of one?s merits, of not being noticed either for one?s defects or one?s merits. Terror, terror, terror. Life was a reign of terror, in the shadow of the guillotine. [the devil?s words]"

"There was a time when people accepted magical experiences as natural. There were no priests then, and no one went chasing after the secrets of the occult."

"There's everything wrong with it. Because when everyone dreams but only a few realize their dreams, that makes cowards of us all"

"There's A Force that wants you to realize your personal legend; it whets your appetite with a taste of success."

"Therefore, before you begin anything, seek out your allies, people who are interested in what you are doing. I'm not saying 'seek out other archers'."

"There's nothing deeper than love. In fairy tales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real life, the princesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs."

"There's one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure."

"They are afraid to make their biggest dreams because they feel undeserving, or will not get them."

"These are people who accept the fire of the Holy Spirit,' he said, 'the fire that is left behind but that is used by so few people to light their candles."

"There's nothing terribly wrong. Even a broken clock is right two times in a single day."

"They are all ignorant surrender... naive... and one of them immune to believe something is not part of what the belief it back."

"They think they're normal, because they all do the same thing. Well, I'm going to pretend that I have drunk from the same well as them."

"They are the forces that seem negative, but actually teach you to prove your Personal Legend. Prepare your spirit and your will. Because there is a great truth on this planet: whoever you are or whatever you do, when you want something with a will, it's because that desire is born in the soul of the universe. That thing is your mission on earth."

"They are so very cultivated, so very rich and so utterly charming. At the end of each day, they all ask themselves: 'Is it time I stopped?' And they all reply: 'If I did, there would be no meaning to my life. 'As if they actually knew what the meaning of life was."

"They are not going through your head that just speaks to the power. They have to be seen occasionally, drink and eat together, attend big parties, feed the fantasy that the world of luxury and glamor is accessible to all who have the courage to persevere with an idea. Avoid wars when unprofitable and stimulate aggression between countries or companies, when they feel that they can report to you more power and more money. Pretend to be happy, whether prisoners of their own success. . Continue fighting to increase their wealth and influence, even though they are huge, because the vanity of superclass is competing with itself and see who is at the top"

"They come in search of new things, but when they leave they are basically the same people they were when they arrived. They climb the mountain to see the castle, and they wind up thinking that the past was better than what we have now. They have blond hair, or dark skin, but basically they're the same as the people who live right here"

"They never stop to think: I?m here. I am the result of everything that happened and will happen, but I?m here."

"They say that in the second before our death, each of us understands the real reason for our existence, and out of that moment, Heaven or Hell is born. Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment: I made some mistakes, but I wasn`t a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do."

"They spent days, nights, weeks and months talking, never accepting the fact that, good or bad, an idea only exists when someone tries to put it into practice."

"They say that extroverts are unhappier than introverts and have to compensate for this by constantly proving to themselves how happy and contented and at ease with life they are."

"They went to university because someone, at a time when universities seemed important, said that in order to rise in the world, you had to have a degree. And thus the world was deprived of some excellent gardeners, bakers, antique dealers, sculptors, and writers."

"They were happy, because they who love have overcome the world, and is not afraid to lose anything. True love is an act of total surrender."